Mount Hagen Cultural Show & Sepik Crocodile Festival Tour Programs 2017- (21 Days/20 nights)

Day 1- D 

Arrive Port Moresby Meet on arrival at Port Moresby airport and transfer to our hotel. We have breakfast at the hotel and after breakfast tour of Port Moresby and the surrounds including the Outside view of the National Parliament house and the adventure park. Return for lunch and then after lunch transfer for your PX flight Port Moresby/Wewak Overnight. On arrival you will be met by our guide and transfer you to Wewak Bountique Hotel.   

Day 2 - BLD

After breakfast begin your road tour to the Sepik River. Upon arrival at Pagwi jump onto the waiting canoe to Palimbe village . Overnight at Palimbe village  Guest House

Day 3 - BLD

After breakfast begin the tour of the middle Sepik area including Palimbe village, Aibom, Chambri Lakes, and the Kamanabit villages. Return and overnight at Kanganamun village. (3 NIGHTS)

Days 4-5 -  BLD

You will spend the two full days at the Sepik Crocodile Festival with picnic lunch.

Day 6 - BLD

After breakfast transfer from Kanganamun to Wewak and overnight at Inwewak Boutique hotel

Day 7 - BLD

After early breakfast transfer to the airport for your PX flight Wewak/ Madang

Upon arrival meet and transfer to  hotel. After check in proceed to Madang town sight seeing tour. Overnight at Madang Resort Hotel.

Day 8 - B&D

Full day tour of Madang. The tour includes bilbil pottery demonstration, Madang Haus tumbuna, Bobe village for cultural dances and singsings and visits a model of coastal village settings. The young village girls in this village display their tender breasts as a show off to attract the opposite sex.

Day 9 - BLD

Today after breakfast you will do road tour from Madang to Goroka on your tour vehicle. You drive  along the mighty highlands highway  passing through exotic landscapes of Eastern Highlands province, alpine and savanna grasslands, road villages, the Ramu valley, driving through the Ramu cattle farm, Ramu sugar and Ramu palm oil plantations, Stops are made at certain locations including lunch at Kassam pass overlooking the Ramu and Markham valleys. Kainantu town and  Yonki Dam are some of the highlights of this road tour. The drive along this part of Papua New Guinea memorable and fantastic. The drive will take between 4-5 hours. Finally you descend into Kombri vally, Kamaliki, Bena Bena and arrive Goroka town and overnight at Pacific Gardens Hotel. Overnight: Pacific Gardens Hotel (1 night).

Day 10 - BLD

Half day tour of Goroka and surroundings. Tours include visit to JK McCarty Museum, coffee factories and plantations, Goroka “Bilum” string bag market, arts and craft and finally the Asaro Mudman village for mudman performance. You have lunch and after lunch transferred by road to Mt Hagen. Stops will be made at Daulo pass for lunch and photo. We will drive you through the famous Whagi Valley. You arrive Mt Hagen and transfer straight to Hotel Kimininga. After check in you will be given a tour to the popular Mt Hagen Market. One of the best markets in the Southern Hemisphere.Transfer to McRoyal Hotel and overnight.

Day 11 - BLD

This morning after breakfast you will tour the eastern end of Mt Hagen. The tour starts at 8:30 AM. The  tour  today goes into the  Waghi Valley from Mt. Hagen.  Until the  Waghi was seen by  Taylor and Leahy in 1933,  it was generally thought that the  mountains of  Papua New Guinea  were  uninhabited wilderness.   In  contrast to this is the  Waghi  Valley  which you will see today; it is a fertile area covered in flourishing tea and coffee plantations interspersed with picturesque village homesteads surrounded by  traditional food  gardens still tendered by women in the age old way. The spectacular surrounding mountains reach a peak of 4000 meters on the south side and 4509 meters on the north side.

This tour also takes to the Mt Hagen produce market, the best market in Papua New Guinea. After the visit to the market, a brief tour of Mt Hagen Township. After visiting the market, drive up to the Kuta Range passing villages food gardens. Stops are made on selected sights which will give you an excellent view of the township of Mt Hagen. This is very excellent view. Then drive through more villages along the Kuta Range and arrive at the foot of Mt. Olga and visit Pogla village and make a visit to a cultural center for cultural including visit to Polga and Avi villages. The cultural activities include the Hagen Man and Women singsing, Sili Muli lady dancers from Wabag,young ladies dance half naked. They display their tender breasts and body to attrack young men and the skeleton boys. On completion of the visit a the village drive back to link up with the Highlands Highway and drive on to tea and coffee platations and visit some villages.

Day 12- Sunday 14^th August 16 – BLD

Today after breakfast you will continue the highlands highway with pack lunch  and drive to Tari by on your tour vehicle. You begin your long journey in Mt Hagen Western Highlands Province and finish in Tari Southern Highlands Province. The drive will take between 5-6 hours. The scenery along the way is fantastic as you will see the road side villages, gorges, water falls and fast flowing rivers and landscape. This is totally different from what you have seen along the way from Madang to Mt Hagen. Stops will be made along the way for photos, pack lunch and toilet. Finally you Arrive Tari Gap and descent into Tari Basin, the land of famous Huli Wigman. Upon arrival you will be met by Country Tours lodge staff and help you check in at Makara Bird View Lodge. A locally owned and operated by Country Tours, with all self contained rooms with hot and cold water systems and is built into the forest. This place is a birders and nature lover’s paradise as you will hear and see birds and natures talking to each other. Overnight Makara Bird View Lodge (3 nights)

DAY 13 &14 Mon & Tue 15^th  & 16^th  August  BLD

Today and tomorrow immerse yourself in the Huli culture and its intriguing traditions. The Huli people live by hunting, gathering plants and growing crops. They are exceptional farmers and still farm their land and raising pigs as their main economy. Men and women still live separately; unmarried men historically lived in large group houses, although this is exceptionally rare nowadays. When wearing traditional dress, the men decorate their bodies with colored clay and wear elaborate headdresses for ceremonies. This intrigue and complicated culture will fascinate you. Highlight of these two days in the Tari Basin include the following: Observe face paintings and Singsing by Huli wigman, Huli Village studies, Observe the wig making school of the Huli men, skull caves and fortune teller a must to see and further you walk over cane bridges engineered and constructed by local Huliman and the Makara fall which is just beside Makara Lodge where it got its name from.

Day 15- Wednesday -17 August 16 – BLD

Today after breakfast you will return back to Mt hagen for the Famous Mt hagen Cultural show. You continue the highlands highway with pack lunch  and drive to Mt hagen  by on your tour vehicle. You begin your long journey in Tari Hela  Province and finish in Mt Hagen Western Highlands Province. The drive will take between 5-6 hours. The scenery along the way is fantastic as you will see the road side villages, gorges, water falls and fast flowing rivers and landscape. This is totally different from what you have seen along the way from Madang to Mt Hagen. Stops will be made along the way for photos, pack lunch and toilet. Finally you Arrive Mt hagen and transfer to Mc Royal Hotel and overnight.

Day 16- Thursday – 18th August 16 – B

After breakfast the tour takes you to the South of Mt Hagen driving through valleys, passing fast flowing rivers into the Nebilyer Valley. This valley stretches further south towards the bordering Southern Highlands and Enga Provinces. The Nebliyter Valley holds some of the country’s coffee plantations and the people here are of mixed culture of the Central Western Highlands and the Southern Highlands. The people speak a complete different language from the Central Western Highlands and bordering Southern Highlands. From the Nebilyer Valley drive further to the northwest viewing excellent landscapes and waterfalls to Paiagona village for village study which takes you into a local village. This area is much cooler although in the valley because of its situation. Situated below the foots of Mt. Hagen and Mt. Giluwe, the areas produces some best vegetables. People are friendly and cheerful and at all times willing greet visitors with a smile. This is  a 1 and half hours drive one way along sealed road and road side markets are interesting to observe as villages well, buy and barter for cash or goods to goods. An excellent scenery with natural landscapes and beauty is admirable in this part of the province.

The tour will  include the unique cultural activities at Tambul. This very unique people and their culture is situated under the foot of Mt Giluwe, the second highest mountain in PNG of an altitude of 12 000 feet. In this tour you will see traditional singsing display for both man and women, traditional courtship displays, traditional funeral and cause of dead investigations, traditional fire making and hunting, tradition mumu-an oven from the earth, moka demonstration, and chief with his many wives. You will be served the mumu food to taste and much more. This is unique culture and a must to see. Our clients in the past including Americans and Europeans have enjoyed every bit so far. After this tour you will return to Hotel.

Day 17 -Friday 19^th August BLD

Visit Paiakona for Mini cultural show with picnic lunch.

Day 18 –Saturday 20^th August BLD

You spend the entire day at the Mt Hagen cultural show with pack lunch.

Day 19 Sunday 21 August BL

After breakfast transfer hotel to the airport for your  flight PX181 Mt Hagen to Port Moresby. On arrival you will be met by our staff transfer you to  your international departing flight POM/SIN

END OF COUNTRY TOURS ARRANGEMENTS